Technology products and their transformative power have always excited me. As VP of Engineering here at Aize, a product-led pathway benefits the engineers in my team. Also, it enables Aize to deliver more value to our users.
Aize is a SaaS product that uses 3D and AI and provides time-saving solutions for remote and efficient data searching, visualisation, and collaboration. We continuously improve these powerful tools and work closely with our customers to boost their efficiency. To achieve this, we utilise a modern, engineer-friendly approach.
Traditional project management is not suitable for delivering Technology products. This method results in rigid, linear approaches to software development. It may suffice in some scenarios but falls short when validating ideas early, responding to evolving user needs, reacting to a landscape of rapidly changing opportunities, and navigating any new possibilities created through fast-changing technology.
Product Mode
Here's where 'Product Mode' transforms how our engineers work, boosting customer focus and responsiveness, reducing risk, and upping product quality. 'Product Mode' shifts us from project to product thinking. Marty Cagan, in his book "Inspired: How to create tech products customers love", talks about how this approach works in the most successful technology product companies like Amazon, Netflix, and Spotify.
'Product Mode' isn't just an approach but the essence of Aize culture. It encourages curiosity, a thirst for learning, and an unyielding push for innovation among our engineers. Moreover, it syncs with the Agile Manifesto—prioritising people, working software, and customer collaboration.
Aize teams are product-focused, creating a stable environment for learning and improvement. We value outcomes over scope and schedule. Being an engineer in a product team is a journey that seeks user feedback, spurs experimentation, and propels continuous innovation to solve problems. It's not about a project with a due date. It is a never-ending journey of improvements, where user satisfaction is our success metric.
Our product teams are constantly discovering and delivering in their specific product areas. Before moving ahead, we ensure ideas are valuable and desirable for our users, align with our technology and resources, and fit our business goals. This method cuts risk, trims waste, and promotes more effective deliverables.
Choosing 'Product Mode' brings its challenges. It pushes us to reconsider our organisation, hire the right talent, and adapt to a fast-paced, outcome-focused approach. 'Product Mode' can be daunting for stakeholders who are used to traditional projects, as we cannot provide detailed upfront plans for approval.
'Product Mode' is the only viable alternative for creating technology products. After working in a product-led company, most engineers never look back.
As we perfect our 'Product Mode' and improve Aize, I'm pumped for future innovations. Our end game? A single product that transforms the working day of users worldwide. As we scale up our SaaS offering, there's no better time to be a part of Aize's journey!
